


Injury

by rainsonata



Category: Elsword (Video Game)
Genre: M/M, and more about their dynamic in battle, because I really wanted to write about blood on ice and snow
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 21:07:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,583
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19281196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rainsonata/pseuds/rainsonata
Summary: Mastermind and Lunatic Psyker were on their way to meet the army near Hamel when the demons attacked.  Why does Lunatic Psyker keep insisting on being called Lusa?





	Injury

**Author's Note:**

> Originally posted on July 31, 2015 on tumblr.
> 
> Add - Mastermind  
> Lusa - Lunatic Psyker

There were many things Mastermind hated.  He hated people barging into his room.  He hated Esper randomly popping into his lab through his annoying portals, especially when he was in the middle of recording important data.  He hated Psyker’s habit of borrowing his equipment without asking.  And he absolutely hated snow.  

Sure, snow was white and pristine, when it was dry and falling from the sky.  But the moment it landed on his nose, the snowflake melted and the cold made him want to sneeze if he wasn’t bundled up enough in layers of clothing.  It made his boots feel wet and dirty once melted and sometimes hid a layer of ice on the ground, making it easy for him to trip and fall if not for his dynamos.

Mastermind was rubbing his gloved hands when Lunatic Psyker came up from behind and jumped on the scientist’s back.  Mastermind instinctively smacked the brawler the moment he felt Psyker’s touch.  The scientist showed little remorse when Psyker fell backwards.       

“Ow, what was that for?” Psyker rubbed the side of his face where Mastermind hit him.  Mastermind could never hit as hard as Psyker, but it was still painful.

“Get off,” Mastermind was not in the mood for this, of all days.  They were supposed to meet up with the army a few miles north from here.  It could takes just hours to reach if they were efficient about it.  It was fucking cold and he wanted to reach to the camp as fast as humanly possible but damnit, Psyker was not helping.         

Psyker snickered, “Someone’s not happy.”

Mastermind wanted to groan.  If Psyker was going to be a shit, he would have preferred for the brawler wait until they were at a warmer place.  Psyker and inconvenience were two things that commonly grouped together and today was impeccable timing for it.  Of course.

He couldn’t understand how someone could be so happy in the snow.  Psyker wore fewer clothing layers and laughed  when he saw Mastermind throw on a couple of sweaters before leaving.  Psyker ran around the snow with such enthusiasm that it would have been contagious if Mastermind wasn’t in such a foul mood.

Despite the extra clothes, Mastermind was still freezing from the subarctic temperatures.  The only thing he was satisfied with was that his dynamos were still functional, not that he would expect any less when he himself modified his weapons to withstand any environment.     

“What’s wrong, Add?” The brawler smirked at the disgruntled scientist, “Can’t handle a bit of cold?”     

Mastermind didn’t react immediately when Psyker called him by his name.   Where did he get the idea to call Mastermind by that?  No one had called him by that name since, well, centuries.  He frowned, “Don’t call me that.”

“Well that’s your name, isn’t it?”     

“Both of us are Add,” Mastermind sighed.  Why did the brawler sound so smug when pointing out the obvious?

“Yes, it would be confusing to call each other by the same name, wouldn’t it?” He laughed as if he was onto something.

“What are you trying to get at?”

“It’s so stiff calling each other Psyker and Mastermind,” the brawler exaggerated his features with a look of annoyance when he pronounced their titles.  “Let’s give each other nicknames!” he added, with his signature grin.

The scientist scoffed.  The name Psyker was already a nickname Mastermind came up with because saying Lunatic Psyker was a waste of breath.   _Mind_ was occasionally used when the brawler was too lazy to say his full title.  Did Psyker want something even shorter?

“So what names do you suggest, dear Psyker?” Mastermind asked in a mocking tone.

If Mastermind was hoping to anger Psyker, he was sorely disappointed.  Psyker grinned at the question, excited to share with the scientist.  It was just a name…why was it such a big deal for him all of a sudden?   

“You can call me Lusa!” Psyker beamed.

“Lusa?” The scientist had a deadpan expression.

Well, it was definitely easier on the tongue than saying Psyker all the time.  However, it felt so personal.  Was that Psyker’s goal?  Mastermind rolled his eyes.  He didn’t have time to think about minor things like this.  They needed to get across this icy terrain before nightfall if they were to meet up with the army to take down the demons.  They weren’t covering any ground if they were talking like this.

“What difference does it make if you’re Lusa or Lunatic Psyker?” Mastermind asked.  "It’s just a name.“

"Having that title is nice and all, but I miss having a name.” Psyker said, “I’m sure you miss being called Add, don’t you?”

It was rather unnerving the way Psyker was staring at him, waiting for a reaction from Mastermind.  There wasn’t any malice from the brawler that suggested that the comment was intended to embarrass or make a fool out of him.  There was some hesitation from Psyker when he brought up the topic, like he had been thinking about it for some time.  Mastermind wasn’t sure how he felt about having nicknames.  It would feel almost strange to be called Add again.

Mastermind took a quick glance over Psyker’s back.  They had been here for an hour and only a few demons had crossed their path.  Shouldn’t there be more?  He scanned the snow and steep cliffs that surrounded them.  Maybe they were hiding in the snow?  The field was too quiet when they entered, devoid of  even the sounds of animals.  Mastermind thought he saw something moving between the bushes when Psyker tapped on his shoulder to get his attention.

“Come on,” Psyker pestered him.  "We’ve known each other for how long?“

"A bit too long…” Mastermind mumbled, distracted by the suspicious movement in the shrubs.

The other ignored the snark, shaking his head, “Enough with the formalities!”

“Psyker…”

“It’s Lusa,” he corrected.

“Can we have this discussion to another time?” Mastermind glared at the moving bushes.  "There’s a nuisance to be taken care of.“  Psyker read his body language and understood, allowing the scientist to draw out the enemies. 

Mastermind whipped out his dynamo and ordered them to form a laser beam, aimed towards the moving shrubs.  As soon as the beam hit the bush, demons appeared by the number.  One demon took an unfortunate hit from his dynamo and slammed lifeless against the cold ground.  Psyker quickly jumped back on his feet, ready to fight alongside him.  Mastermind glared at the demons.  Tch, what a pain.  He really didn’t like having pests listening in on their conversations.   

* * *

Psyker laughed when their organs spilled out, disregarding the blood splattering on his clothes.  Demon blood was unlike that of humans.  Their blood was thick and syrupy, the color crimson red almost black when hardened by the frost.  Their cries were harsh to human hearing, only to be interrupted when their attacker silenced them with a finishing punch that knocked them to the ground, their internals blown inside out.  The ground was soaked with their blood, tainting the white snowy terrain.

The brawler was no stranger to the sensation of adrenaline running through his veins when he tore through the demons of Hamel.  They were like any other demons he and Mastermind had encountered throughout their journey.  Watching their necks break under the pressure of his fists only elevated his fighting spirit and encouraged him to continue.  The only thing that stopped him from killing more than he already had was that they were fighting in a snow field, the precipitation slowing down his movements when he wanted to go faster.  Make a mistake and he could accidentally slide across the snow and break a limb, although that was the least of his worries.  

It was a fast paced battle; the brawler drew back when the demons reached out to strike.  They looked similar to the Shadow Walkers from earlier dungeons, but they were stronger, capable of inflicting serious injuries if he wasn’t careful.  The demons hit the snow head first, letting out an enraged shriek when the brawler circled around to kick them to the side.  Psyker threw his body across the floor when he caught the sight of a lone demon attempting to escape.  

A horde of demons flew across the sky when a bright beam of light shot through the snow.  Psyker didn’t have to look to see the source.  Mastermind slid past him, wearing a similar grin as the brawler when he took down a few more enemies with the help of his dynamos.  The pony tailed man withdrew his weapons for a brief moment to reconfigure to a different install.  His dynamo changed positions to form into a triangular formation before returning to aim at the monsters before them.  

Psyker didn’t have enough time to see who his enemies were when he delivered a high jump kick to finish off the remnants that survived.  He felt the demon’s skull crack under the pressure of his foot when he kicked it.  The demons here must be weak if all it took was a kick to bring them down to their knees.  Or perhaps he was too strong for them, he chuckled.  Mastermind lazily ordered his dynamo to snuff out the last of the fiend’s life, barely batting an eye when Psyker kicked the demon at his direction.

"This would be easier if Esper came with us,” Mastermind said as he delivered a low kick to a demon racing towards him.

“Well he’s not here, is he?” Psyker said with a bitter smile.  "It’ll be me you have to put up with.“

"What tough luck.”

The blood of his enemies was his energy, his fuel to continue on.  Psyker’s eyes glowed when he crushed them, savoring the excitement he got from the destruction.  Even using the snow as camouflage wasn’t enough for the demons to avoid his keen eye.  He blinked when he saw a couple of spider-like demons appear before them, narrowly dodging their acid spray.  With disgust, he quickly exterminated them with a couple of punches.  His eyes widened when more appeared.       

Before Psyker could react, the floor below them shuddered when a giant creature stepped out from the blinding snow.  It must have been the height of a tall building, several meters tall.  The creature reminded Psyker of a crab, but the number of legs it had and the way it walked suggested that it was a spider.  Rough skin and ice covered its body with eight appendages protruding from its upper body.  Psyker could see the individual hairs on each of its legs; it shook off the ice as it approached him.  It had sharp fangs and multiple red eyes that followed him when he moved.     

The brawler gripped his left wrist, directing electricity to his left palm.  He screamed as he leaped into the air, aiming for the giant spider’s front leg.  His breath stopped short, careful to avoid the sharp edges of its foot as his fist dug into the middle of its leg, satisfied when he broke through the thick layers of its shell.

Spurts of plasma scattered around him as he slid around the giant spider when it tried to throw its weight on him.  In a panic, Psyker buried himself under the snow to escape the acid spray released by the spider and its spawns.  Smaller spiders scattered from behind, with the giant spider standing in front of Psyker.  Seeing he was running out of places to run, he hurled a psionic blast that hit those around him, escaping while the enemies were distracted by the attack.    

While Psyker made his way past the spider demons, he smirked when he saw one of Mastermind’s installs flying by, pursuing the giant spider with its homing system.  He turned around in time to see the giant spider crashing to the floor with its belly sliced by a white glowing disk.  Mastermind’s Flick Disk hit the spider multiple times before returning to its owner.  

 _Must be the boss_ , Psyker thought.  What did the locals call it?  Ah, yes.  Magmanta.  He chuckled.  The spider had caused enough misery to earn a name, how quaint.       

Psyker looked up when he heard Mastermind shouting his name, but by the time he had done so, there wasn’t enough time for him to react.  Mastermind was too far to reach him when Magmanta latched onto the brawler’s arm, tearing through his skin with its sharp fangs.  He screamed and fought to throw the fiend off of him with what little strength he had left.  Psyker let electricity course through his palm before releasing a punch at it, sending it crashing to the ground below.  The brawler cackled.  Did those fools really think that was all it would take to bring him down?   

His laughter stopped abruptly as he clutched his stomach.  When he brought his arm away from his stomach area, he looked to see that his forearm was coated in a thin layer of dark red.  His stomach was covered in cuts and bruises, fresh blood streaming out of the wounds.  Crap, he was bleeding.   He didn’t remember getting hit from that region.  The pain wasn’t evident until he stopped to take a breath.

Psyker turned to see Mastermind’s eyes grow wide, staring at the injured brawler.   

* * *

Mastermind looked at Psyker in horror when he saw the injuries.  Disregarding the icy path or how he was surrounded by spiders, he ran to where the brawler was.  The scientist’s arm grew numb when he reached over to check on Psyker’s injuries.  

Psyker’s breaths were shallow when Mastermind learned over to listen to his heartbeat, fluttering and uneven.  Sweat and blood accumulated on the brawler’s face, some of it smudged into his hair, which looked unnaturally pale against the soiled snow.  The brawler opened one eye and gave Mastermind a toothy grin.  

He cackled, “You really thought that would kill me?”

“Look at yourself,” Mastermind said in disgust.  “You’re bleeding like hell and laughing like a madman.”

“Well, aren’t all of us mad?” Psyker giggled.  

Mastermind had seen Psyker hurt more times than he could count, but today felt different.  The defeated look in the brawler’s eyes worried him.  He wanted to shake Psyker, hoping that it would put some sense back into him and act like his usual obnoxious self.  

He ripped off the brawler’s clothes, ignoring the other’s uncontrolled laughter while searching for the source of the blood loss.  Mastermind wrapped Psyker in his jacket while he dug through his bag for bandages.  Luckily for both of them, the bandages were lying near the top of the bag.

Psyker’s wounds were half-way cleaned when a screech reached Mastermind’s ears.  He turned to see that his drones were no longer distracting the spiders.  Mastermind glanced at Psyker before looking back at the spiders.  He needed to end this battle fast.  If he could defeat the boss, then the weaker ones should scatter.  Worrying about Psyker’s wounds now wasn’t an option.  If he didn’t do something, both of them could end up dead.

Mastermind used his dynamos to leap a great distance across the snow.  The scientist landed on the opposite side of the field, hoping that he could distract the spiders, anything to lure them away from Psyker.  He threw another Flick Disk to take down a few smaller spiders that were in the way, watching in mild satisfaction when they collapsed from the attack.       

“I think not,” Mastermind growled when the massive spider attempted to throw its weight against him.  He ordered his dynamos to reconfigure to shoot multiple lasers at the creature.  

No longer caring about keeping his distance, Mastermind flew in to throw additional punches and kicks.  His drones sliced through its back legs, but Mastermind made a mistake.  The scientist jumped back, but was seconds late.  He froze when the giant spider’s front body fell over him, a crude scream left his lips when Magmanta’s tough exoskeleton scraped off a thin layer of his skin. 

Mastermind’s white hair was loosed from its ponytail, tangled with dirt and covered in blood.  Bangs messily covered his pale face.  There was an uneven rhythm to his breathing, occasionally gagging due to the harsh winds.  Snow pelted his face, reminding him that he was injured in the middle of a snowstorm that showed little sign of retreating.   

Lying on his back, Mastermind clenched his teeth, gripping his bleeding hands against the soiled floor underneath.  His mind was in a haze.  In a span of seconds, he felt the freezing temperature of the cold floor.  In another few seconds his veins were burning.  

He had caused enough damage to slow down Magmanta, but it was still alive and moving.  Mastermind wanted to throw up.  It was disgusting.  Half of his body was crushed by the weight of the giant spider sitting on him.  Those thoughts were discarded when he felt the spider’s weight lift off.  What was it doing?  Mastermind gasped when he saw it crawling to where Psyker was, who was still injured.  

 _No_ , Mastermind thought.  He opened his mouth to shout, but instead gagged on his own saliva.  He couldn’t let that wretched thing near Psyker.  Psyker was injured.  If the brawler was to take any more damage from the spider, he was good as dead.  He couldn’t let that happen.  Psyker…, no…     

“Lusa!” Mastermind heard himself scream.  

His vision went red when he charged after the giant spider.  It was a miracle he could still move in the state he was in, but Mastermind didn’t care.  He ran to activate his Nasod Armor and punched the beast’s chest, his dynamos assisting him by digging through its weakened exoskeleton.    

“Ultimate Fury,” Mastermind choked.  His dynamos drew themselves into a triangular formation to form lasers, cutting at the giant spider’s exterior until it cracked.

Mastermind smirked when his dynamos slowed it down.  The scientist’s smile grew wider when he duplicated his dynamos to center around the enemy.  It wasn’t enough.  The giant spider looked like it was nearing death, but he wasn’t happy.  He needed to do more, so he drew back his arm to give it one final punch.      

When he brought his hand back, it was covered in blood and mucus from the spider’s remnants.  He started cackling when the spider tried to move forward, only for it to fall backwards and wave what was left of its legs flailing in the air.  Some of its legs were half broken, hissing as its blood spilled on the floor.  A stupid creature who failed to understand when its end had come.

He was still laughing when he dragged himself away from the giant spider, not wanting to be there when its internal organs explode from the sudden change in temperature and pressure.  Mastermind stopped to steady his shaky, uneven breaths, still living in the moment and enjoying the adrenaline coursing through his veins.  No wonder Psyker enjoyed fighting so much.  It was different being up close with an opponent.  It made his blood boil, constantly pressured to move in time with the battle.  It was _fun_.        

Mastermind stopped on that thought.  The scientist looked over to where the brawler was with some hesitance.  He was too far to see his counterpart, only close enough to see his tall figure lying in the snow.  How long was that fight against the spiders?  Would the brawler still be breathing?  What if he was too late?  He dreaded the possibilities.        

Before, the field felt tiny because the spider covered so much ground in such little time.  Now, it felt like an eternity when Mastermind tried to reach for him.  The scientist ran to where the brawler was, hoping that he was still breathing when he reached him.  That all that meant to him.  Mastermind wanted him to be alive.  For Psyker to be dead…it was a thought he wanted to push away.  

* * *

Psyker’s eyes grew wide in recognition when he came to, Mastermind hovered over him.  The scientist checked the wounds to see that his white jacket had absorbed much of the blood.  He tossed the bloody jacket to the side before digging through his bag.  

Mastermind set up a fire while using his teeth to pull the cork out of the glass bottle.  He made sure Psyker’s wounds were properly cleaned before having him tilt his head back, using his thumb and index finger to prompt Psyker into opening his mouth.  Psyker’s eyes grew watery when the potion was brought to his lips, swallowing the bitter drink with a couple of coughs in between gulps.  

The scientist felt relief as he watched the wounds slowly close up.  A minor injury would have healed completely by now, but Psyker’s wounds were only half-way healed when Mastermind wrapped his chest area with layers of bandages.     

“Huh?” The brawler mumbled when Mastermind threw an extra jacket over his head.  

“Getting this injured before you kill something isn’t your style,” Mastermind tried to laugh it off, failing to hide the fact that his voice was shaking.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Psyker grumbled.  He was still dazed when he felt something pushed against his left shoulder.  It was a fist-sized package wrapped to tin foil.  He unwrapped it to see that it was a bundle of dried fish.  The brawler looked at Mastermind in confusion.  

“You need to eat,” Mastermind urged him.  Psyker was already exhausted from the fight alone.  Potions healed by encouraging the body to speed up the healing process, but it drained one’s energy.  It was evident that the brawler was drained from the way he barely registered what was going on around him.  

“Did you get it?” He took a bite out of the dried fish, “How are you holding up?”

“I’m fine,” the scientist insisted.  “It’s dead.”  The entire field smelled like rotting flesh, fallen trees piled on top of one another from the battle.  At the death of their boss, the rest of the spiders scattered off.    

With the battle ended, Mastermind’s self consciousness returned; he felt disgusted when he became aware that he was covered from head to toe in blood.  The usual clean vest he wore was now damped with blotches of red and black, blood seeping through the layers. Mastermind cringed when he ran one hand through his hair, discovering that chunks of blood had dried on his tangled hair.

Mastermind gasped when the brawler grabbed him by the arm and hissed, “Liar.”  He glared at the scientist’s bleeding legs, “You made me take the last of the potions.”

He bit his lips, covering his bleeding leg with one hand with a grim expression.  “You needed it more,” Mastermind said.  “As if I would leave you bleeding to become demon food.”

The brawler let out an unhappy sigh, mumbling to himself, “Of course.”  

Psyker was still holding onto his arm, making sure the scientist wouldn’t run off or protest when he used the last of the bandages to wrap Mastermind’s wounds.  Mastermind squirmed when the brawler wrapped his wounds, gritting his teeth at how tight they were wrapped.  The scientist was about to close his eyes when he felt Psyker jabbing him from the side.      

“Join me,” Psyker shoved the dried fish back to Mastermind.  “I can’t eat all of this by myself.”  

He kept poking the scientist until Mastermind gave in and grabbed the fish from him to take a big bite out of it.  Satisfied, Psyker soon joined him, enjoying the crunchy texture of the food when he took a bite.  Mastermind was in the middle of finishing his ration when he noticed the brawler wearing a smug smile.  

“What?” Mastermind suddenly felt conscious about Psyker looking at him like that.  

“You called me Lusa,” the brawler said with some pride.  

It took Mastermind a moment to process the words before saying with reluctance, “Yeah, I guess I did.”       

What’s in a name?  Mastermind thought, _To be so worked up over what other people call you.  Is it that important?_  The scientist never put much thought into what people called him.  Add was a name used by his family, when he was a nobody.  When he was a slave, he was given a set of numbers to be his new identity.  In this future, he was known as Add again at first.  He was then called Arc when he became an Arc Tracer, before finally acquiring the title Mastermind recently.  Add.  Would he want to go back to the name he was birthed with?     

“Lusa, huh?” Mastermind mumbled the name.

Mastermind looked at the other with tired eyes.  He felt blood rushing up his cheeks when the brawler pulled him into a tight hug.  The scientist shook, but he was unsure whether or not it was from the cold.  He forced himself to maintain a composed face when the brawler rested his head on Mastermind’s.  Despite the cold, Lusa was absurdly warm.    

“I was worried,” Mastermind whispered, trying to justify why he called out Lusa’s name.  “You were bleeding.”

“I know,” the brawler smiled.  “Thank you, Add.”

The scientist stared at him.  This was the third time today he had been called by his old name, but he didn’t correct the brawler this time.      

“Lusa, I… ” He said with embarrassment.  “It would be a shame if your body was left to the demons.”  

He couldn’t find the heart to be honest and admit that he didn’t like seeing Lusa injured like that.  Maybe someday, but not today.  Lusa accepted his excuse with a nod of acknowledgement.  He wondered if Lusa understood his reluctance to admit such things.       

It felt strange calling him a different name after knowing him as Psyker since the day they’d met.  That didn’t mean it was a bad thing though.  Lusa was right, the name did feel more personal.  Did that mean they were more than comrades?   

“Hey, you didn’t complain when I called you Add,” Lusa grinned, happy with his small victory.

“Don’t get so smug about it,” Add recovered from his initial embarrassment and snapped back.  That didn’t change Lusa’s tune, who was still bouncing happily sitting cross legged on the floor.    

Add finished the last bit of the fish that was left, crumbling the tin toil that held them together when he was done.  He washed and cleaned his oily hands with a napkin before sitting back down with Lusa.  The brawler no longer had a hazy look in his eyes.  It looked like Lusa had regained some of his energy from the food.  The two of them sat around the fire in silence, enjoying the peace.   

They could, arguably, stand up to continue and meet up with the army like they should have, but Add no longer cared.  He didn’t want to move from his position.  The spilled blood and decomposing flesh of the demons probably attracted more unwanted attention, but he only wanted to rest.  He wasn’t ready to leave yet.  Lusa didn’t show signs of wanting to leave either; he let his eyes droop half-closed, sometimes opening them to make a small smile at Add.    

Add found himself smiling as well.  He huddled next to Lusa and rested his head on the other’s shoulder, too exhausted from the battle to ponder the consequences of being late.  The army could wait.  The warm glow of the fire made it easier for him to close his eyes and drift to sleep with Lusa by his side.


End file.
